EDA/IP weekly roundup – December 5th

ARM, Calypto, D&R, Global Unichip, Kilopass, SIA, Synopsys and Tensilica made the lineup today. See here for their news...

This is a roundup of news or activities in the past few days that may be of interest to people.

ARM has released the ARM DS-5 toolchain version 5.12. This latest version adds the ability to connect the ARM Streamline™ Performance Analyzer to National Instruments (NI) DAQ devices. This provides combined performance and power optimization of ARM processor-based Linux and Android systems. Streamline currently supports NI X and M series USB DAQ devices and extends its functionality with the visualization of voltage, current and/or power consumption on multiple power domains.

Calypto is launching a series of monthly webinars aimed at educating the design community on the latest in high level synthesis (HLS) and power optimization techniques for RTL-based designs. The first two webinars are “Minimizing RTL Power through Sequential Analysis”, which was held Tuesday, December 4, and “A Practical Comparison Between C++ and SystemC for High Level Synthesis”, on Thursday, December 13 at 11:00 AM PST.To attend these webinars, sign up at www.calypto.com/en/events

Kilopass Technology has announced that its non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP) is the first antifuse technology to achieve successful test chips on TSMC’s 20nm process. Analysis of the test chips containing Kilopass NVM IP memory modules validated manufacturability, process control tolerance and cell programming characteristics. As with the 28nm process experience, Kilopass NVM IP in the 20nm process achieved an operating window of over three decades between programmed and un-programmed cells. The Kilopass NVM IP also demonstrated excellent programmed cell current under different programming conditions.

Synopsys has completed the acquisition of SpringSoft through a follow-on merger to acquire all of the remaining outstanding shares of SpringSoft. Previously, on October 1, 2012, Synopsys completed a tender offer for approximately 91.64 percent of SpringSoft's outstanding Shares. As of November 30, 2012, Synopsys is the 100 percent owner of SpringSoft and SpringSoft stock is no longer trading.

Global Unichip has added a DDR3-2133/LPDDR2 combination PHY and Controller IP to its portfolio of 28nm silicon-proven IP portfolio. The new combo IP targets TSMC's 28nm HPM process and provides PHY, controller and a DDR system in a single integrated solution. The new IP features a 20% smaller footprint than similar 40nm functionality and is ideal for designs that need high DDR3-2133 bandwidth and target TSMC's 28HPM advanced process technology.

Tensilica says that 200 companies have licensed Tensilica’s dataplane processor unit (DPU) technology. Over 500 licenses have been signed with these 200 companies, and several thousand unique DPUs have been optimized by Tensilica (standard products) and its licensees (customized products) and deployed in silicon.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.22 billion for the month of October 2012, a 1.7 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $24.79 billion. Monthly sales topped $25 billion for the first time in 2012 and remained above the seasonal growth rate in October. Total year-to-date sales in 2012 were down 3.7 percent compared to the same time last year, but the deficit was smaller than it has been all year. Regionally, sales increased in the Americas by 8.1 percent, marking the region’s largest sequential monthly upsurge in the last decade. On a regional basis, sequential monthly sales also increased in Asia Pacific (1.3 percent) and Europe (0.2 percent), but decreased in Japan (-3.1 percent). In the Americas, combined sales from August through October grew sharply (15.5 percent) compared to sales from May through July.

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